Making jewelry takes a bit of beads and more

We have been planning this jewelry making session since late summer. It is always fun to take a lot of jewelry findings, beads, sequins, and other items and give them to the kids so they can create some wearable items. I had intended to use more of the pole tops for rings but was unable to locate them in time for the session. Instead we took buttons and one half of a pipe cleaner with some beads and created what we thought was even a better project.

Jewelry making from recycled materials @WBCL

I saw the ring making project on Pinterest earlier this year and put the call out to the neighborhood and the parents in this class to save the little ring pulls from cardboard drink and milk boxes. Finally we had enough to do our project. In order to be sure that our sequins and jewels would stick to the plastic I gave each one a quick sanding. We used Alenes tacky glue then added sequins, beads, and big gemstones from a donation. I also had some fun foam bookmarks that I thought would be ideal as bracelets. We were not disappointed. I little Velcro on the ends then the kids covered the entire top with a variety of sequins and beads. Everyone went home wearing their creations. This was a great project as any age of child could do this with a little help from mom or dad.

Enamel disks for Mothers day @WBCL

 Other than the intense odor of nail enamel in the room this project went off without a hitch. Everyone created a card and a disk for their mom or other relative or friend for Mother's day.
We used large disks from Lowes and painted them with layers of nail polish. Because it dries quickly you are able to put on many layers in a short period of time and the dry time is minutes to an hour for a project. They kids also got a cord or ribbon to hang the disk from to complete the project.

Jewelry making turns into gifts for families

Beads of all kinds and sizes just beg to be strung into a necklace, bracelet or be made into a pin for ourselves or someone we know. This class let families with kids of all ages work together to create a great gift or two from the beads people have donated to me. 
We used thin wire, cording, and metallic chenille stems as bases for the projects. I was lucky to find necklace closures to add to the ends of the wires to make a more "professional" way to finish the necklaces and bracelets. Most of our participants also decorated boxes to hold their gifts complete with ribbon bows. As you can see, the kids also made sure they went home with something to wear themselves. Lots of lucky grandmas and aunts out there this year!

Treasure / Jewelry boxes from recycled items

In a spirit of repurposing the group continued on from Kristin's Wacky Science class making paper beads and used berry boxes, CDs and other found items to create treasure or jewelry boxes to hold their creations. Others used oversized cardboard tubes and scrapbook paper to create bracelets. All these shiney things are very popular with the group.